Abstract
Objective:
To determine the status of nutritional literacy and its affecting factors among the adolescents who are in the 9th grade in Çivril, in Denizli province, in Turkey.
Design:
This is ...a cross-sectional study that determines the sociodemographic characteristics, nutritional habits, nutritional behaviour, nutritional literacy status of adolescents and affecting factors.
Setting:
Denizli, Turkey.
Participants:
We included 523 adolescents in ninth grade in this study.
Results:
Half (49·7 %) of the participants were female; 47 %, in normal BMI; and 68·1 %, non-smokers. The mean (
sd
) Adolescent Nutrition Literacy Scale score was 67·6 (
sd
7·9). Nutrition literacy status was related to mothers’ education level (
P
0·021); health perceptions (
P
0·008); positive body perception (
P
0·032); unhealthy food consumption status (
P
0·017); information barriers (undecided about effort for information gathering (
P
0·026), undecided about the difficulty of understanding information (
P
0·042) and thinking it is difficult to understand (
P
0·003)), trust in nutrition, diet information sources (nutrition and diet expert, dietitian trusting (according to others) (
P
0·001), nutrition and diet expert, dietitian neutral to trust (compared with others) (
P
0·011) and trust in textbooks (
P
0·023)).
Conclusions:
The level of nutrition literacy status of participants was moderate. It is important to carry out interventions to increase the education level of women, positive body perceptions and general health perceptions of adolescents and to remove information barriers related to nutrition.
Adolescence is the period of development that begins at puberty and ends in early adulthood. Most commonly, adolescence is divided into three developmental periods: early adolescence (10–14 years of ...age), late adolescence (15–19 years of age), and young adulthood (20–24 years of age). Adolescence is marked by physical and sexual maturation, social and economic independence, development of identity, acquisition of skills needed to carry out adult relationships and roles, and the capacity for reasoning. Adolescence is characterized by a rapid pace of growth that is second only to that of infancy. Nutrition and the adolescent transition are closely intertwined, since eating patterns and behaviors are influenced by many factors, including peer influences, parental modeling, food availability, food preferences, cost, convenience, personal and cultural beliefs, mass media, and body image. Here, we describe the physiology, metabolism, and nutritional requirements for adolescents and pregnant adolescents, as well as nutrition‐related behavior and current trends in adolescent nutrition. We conclude with thoughts on the implications for nutrition interventions and priority areas that would require further investigation.
Abstract Adequate adolescent nutrition is an important step for optimal growth and development. In this article, we systematically reviewed published studies till December 2014 to ascertain the ...effectiveness of interventions to improve adolescent nutrition. We found one existing systematic review on interventions to prevent obesity which we updated and conducted de novo reviews for micronutrient supplementation and nutrition interventions for pregnant adolescents. Our review findings suggest that micronutrient supplementation among adolescents (predominantly females) can significantly decrease anemia prevalence (relative risk RR: .69; 95% confidence interval CI: .62–.76) while interventions to improve nutritional status among “pregnant adolescents” showed statistically significant improved birth weight (standard mean difference: .25; 95% CI: .08–.41), decreased low birth weight (RR: .70; 95% CI: .57–.84), and preterm birth (RR: .73; 95% CI: .57–.95). Interventions to promote nutrition and prevent obesity had a marginal impact on reducing body mass index (standard mean difference: −.08; 95% CI: −.17 to .01). However, these findings should be interpreted with caution due to significant statistical heterogeneity.
Prevalence ranges to classify levels of wasting and stunting have been used since the 1990s for global monitoring of malnutrition. Recent developments prompted a re-examination of existing ranges and ...development of new ones for childhood overweight. The present paper reports from the WHO-UNICEF Technical Expert Advisory Group on Nutrition Monitoring.
Thresholds were developed in relation to sd of the normative WHO Child Growth Standards. The international definition of 'normal' (2 sd below/above the WHO standards median) defines the first threshold, which includes 2·3 % of the area under the normalized distribution. Multipliers of this 'very low' level (rounded to 2·5 %) set the basis to establish subsequent thresholds. Country groupings using the thresholds were produced using the most recent set of national surveys.
One hundred and thirty-four countries.
Children under 5 years.
For wasting and overweight, thresholds are: 'very low' (≈6 times 2·5 %). For stunting, thresholds are: 'very low' (≈12 times 2·5 %).
The proposed thresholds minimize changes and keep coherence across anthropometric indicators. They can be used for descriptive purposes to map countries according to severity levels; by donors and global actors to identify priority countries for action; and by governments to trigger action and target programmes aimed at achieving 'low' or 'very low' levels. Harmonized terminology will help avoid confusion and promote appropriate interventions.
Abstract Adolescent health care is challenging compared to that of children and adults, due to their rapidly evolving physical, intellectual, and emotional development. This paper is the concluding ...paper for a series of reviews to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions for improving adolescent health and well-being. In this paper, we summarize the evidence evaluated in the previous papers and suggest areas where there is enough existing evidence to recommend implementation and areas where further research is needed to reach consensus. Potentially effective interventions for adolescent health and well-being include interventions for adolescent sexual and reproductive health, micronutrient supplementation, nutrition interventions for pregnant adolescents, interventions to improve vaccine uptake among adolescents, and interventions for substance abuse. Majority of the evidence for improving immunization coverage, substance abuse, mental health, and accidents and injury prevention comes from high-income countries. Future studies should specifically be targeted toward the low- and middle-income countries with long term follow-up and standardized and validated measurement instruments to maximize comparability of results. Assessment of effects by gender and socioeconomic status is also important as there may be differences in the effectiveness of certain interventions. It is also important to recognize ideal delivery platforms that can augment the coverage of proven adolescent health–specific interventions and provide an opportunity to reach hard-to-reach and disadvantaged population groups.
In the UK, school food standards have looked to improve the nutritional profile of school food provision and the choices made; however, adolescents' choices tend to bias towards micronutrient poor ...and energy dense options. This study aimed to explore how adolescents make their school food choices, along with how they engage with their environments whilst selecting food. Seven focus group interviews took place with adolescents (n = 28; 13–14 years) in a secondary school in Northern England. Discussions with participants were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and then analysed using an inductive thematic approach. Six themes emerged from the data: (1) parents' and adolescents' roles in the home food environment, (2) burgeoning food autonomy, (3) school food choice factors, (4) social aspects of school food, (5) home versus school, (6) food knowledge & beliefs. Adolescents identified two distinct environments during the focus group discussions: the home and school environments. Adolescents juxtaposed the two, in terms of food provision, food choices, rules and customs surrounding food choice. This juxtaposition emerged as an indirect but important influence on adolescents' school food choices. The school and home environments both (in)directly influence adolescents' school food choices, which involve an integration of multiple, often conflicting influences. Adolescents may adopt a number of unhelpful dietary rationalisations as they try to manage and reconcile these influences. Consultation, together with consideration of relevant food choice models, is required to identify opportunities to influence adolescents’ food choices at school.
This review aims to summarize the latest developments with regard to physical fitness and several health outcomes in young people. The literature reviewed suggests that (1) cardiorespiratory fitness ...levels are associated with total and abdominal adiposity; (2) both cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness are shown to be associated with established and emerging cardiovascular disease risk factors; (3) improvements in muscular fitness and speed/agility, rather than cardiorespiratory fitness, seem to have a positive effect on skeletal health; (4) both cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness enhancements are recommended in pediatric cancer patients/survivors in order to attenuate fatigue and improve their quality of life; and (5) improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness have positive effects on depression, anxiety, mood status and self-esteem, and seem also to be associated with a higher academic performance. In conclusion, health promotion policies and physical activity programs should be designed to improve cardiorespiratory fitness, but also two other physical fitness components such us muscular fitness and speed/agility. Schools may play an important role by identifying children with low physical fitness and by promoting positive health behaviors such as encouraging children to be active, with special emphasis on the intensity of the activity.
Abstract
Context
Approximately 7.3 million births occur annually among adolescents in low- and middle-income countries. Pregnant adolescents constitute a nutritionally vulnerable group that could ...benefit from intervention to mitigate the mortality and adverse birth outcomes associated with adolescent pregnancy.
Objective
The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the following: (1) the effect of multiple-micronutrient (MMN) supplementation vs iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation among adolescents on maternal morbidity, birth outcomes, and mortality outcomes, (2) the effects of MMN supplementation in adolescents compared with the effects in adult women, and (3) the effect modification, if any, of MMN supplementation by baseline and geographic characteristics of adolescents.
Data Sources
MEDLINE and Cochrane databases were searched, along with the reference lists of relevant reviews.
Study Selection
Multiple-micronutrient supplementation trials in pregnancy that were conducted in a low- or middle-income country and had included at least 100 adolescents (10–19 years of age) were eligible for inclusion. Two independent reviewers assessed study eligibility.
Data Extraction
Thirteen randomized controlled trials conducted in Africa and Asia were identified from 1792 reviews and 1578 original trials. Individual-level data was shared by study collaborators and was checked for completeness and extreme values. One- and two-stage individual participant data meta-analyses were conducted using data from randomized controlled trials of MMN supplementation.
Results
A total of 15 283 adolescents and 44 499 adult women with singleton births were included in the individual participant data meta-analyses of MMN supplementation vs IFA supplementation. In adolescents, MMN supplementation reduced low birth weight (1-stage OR = 0.87, 95%CI 0.77–0.97; 2-stage OR = 0.81; 95%CI 0.74–0.88), preterm birth (1-stage OR = 0.88, 95%CI 0.80–0.98; 2-stage OR = 0.86, 95%CI 0.79–0.95), and small-for-gestational-age births (1-stage OR = 0.90, 95%CI 0.81–1.00; 2-stage OR = 0.86, 95%CI 0.79–0.95) when compared with IFA supplementation. The effects of MMN supplementation did not differ between adolescents and older women, although a potentially greater reduction in small-for-gestational-age births was observed among adolescents. Effect modification by baseline characteristics and geographic region was inconclusive.
Conclusions
Multiple-micronutrient supplementation can improve birth outcomes among pregnant adolescents in low- and middle-income countries. Policy related to antenatal care in these settings should prioritize MMN supplementation over the currently recommended IFA supplementation for all pregnant women, especially adolescents.
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